A reward or loyalty system is a type of marketing method which can be used to encourage certain types of behavior. Often a reward or loyalty system is implemented by a store to promote customer purchases. Customers can be rewarded for continuing to buy items at that store. Rewards can be provided based on a customer's purchase history. For example, after a consumer purchases items totaling a certain monetary amount, a customer could be given a reward.
Rewards can vary based on the products or services rendered. An exemplary reward could be for a free item or a free service. A reward could include a discount on a future purchase. In some cases, rewards are cumulative in nature to encourage customers to obtain larger rewards as a result of increased spending.
Rewards are used in the printing industry to encourage consumption of printing supplies. A reward can be provided based on a customer's volume of purchases for consumables such as ink or paper. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2004/0138945 to Adkins et al. teaches determining item consumption for a customer and providing a reward based on a customer's usage.